Kimi Antonelli leads Mercedes in practice before Belgian Grand Prix
Formula1.com • 1 min read • Latest: Jul 17, 2026, 6:10 PM
Last updated Jul 17, 2026
Kimi Antonelli recorded the fastest time in Free Practice 2 ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix, while teammate George Russell finished eighth. Despite the strong showing, Antonelli stated there is still significant work for Mercedes to improve. After struggling in the first session, the team identified issues with their setup, which has since been addressed. Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin expressed confidence that Russell will perform better in the next session.
- •Antonelli finished first in Free Practice 2 at Spa.
- •Russell struggled, finishing eighth and 1.2 seconds slower than Antonelli.
- •Mercedes made significant changes to the setup after a difficult first session.
- •Shovlin believes Russell will improve after analyzing his data.
"Kimi Antonelli believes "there's still a lot of work to do as a team", despite the Italian and Mercedes finishing fastest in Friday practice ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix.
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